Online Trademark Searches

Trademark is a very important part of your company. It differentiates your company from the rest that are in the same category or with those that have identical or almost the same name as your company. It also differentiates you from companies that bear a logo or company seal that represents your establishment. Nowadays, jingles are also used to uniquely distinguish a company.

With the introduction of the Internet, you can now make inquiries online by going to the website of the States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In this website, you can search for existing trademarks to make sure that the trademark you plan to use is unique and can distinguish you from other companies.

Within the USPTO website, you can find the Patent and Trademark Depository Library that can be downloaded. One document that could be of important use to you is the List of Acceptable Identification of Goods, which is a list of terms used to recognize the terms that you might need to know to identify your products. There is also a list of deleted names and terms that could come in handy. Documents that can help you with basic facts about trademarks are also a good source of information.

When you do file for your application, it is worth it to visit the Trademark Application and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system that will help you keep track of the progress of your application. With many applications being filed everyday, you wouldn?t want your application to be left in a large pile that has been submitted for approval.

Applications for trademark are subjected to outmost scrutiny before they are approved. So best be prepared to know what to do to get the trademark you want.

Trademark Search provides detailed information on Trademark Search, Free Trademark Searches, Online Trademark Searches, US Trademark Searches and more. Trademark Search is affiliated with Free Patent Searches.

What Is A TradeMark And Why Should I Have One?

The short answer to this question is that a trademark can become a brand. Even if you're business is local, a brand name is important not only from a marketing but also a customer perception basis.

When many people think government business registration documents, they naturally think patents. General copyrights which establish ownership of certain types of property like writings, music etc. Trademark registration however is used to establish ownership rights to a specific design, character, lettering style or combinations and of all these into 1 single general identifying mark.

Good examples of Trademarked products would be the NIKE swoosh or McDonalds Golden Arches. These trademarked designs are readily identifiable with the company using them. Trademarks, Servicemarks and other official registrations are good because they establish ownership. That is, you simply could not open up a fast food restaurant and use the McDonalds If you're considering a trademark, the first thing to do is a quick check to make certain what you want to register is even available.

There are many trademarks of obscure companies that may be similar enough to your idea to create confusion and a potential problem. This research can be done by several methods including the use of a patent and trademark attorney. A better approach, especially if you're a small company or one starting out, is to simply contact the federal government and request information on the process steps. The first stop on your journey should be http://www.uspto.gov to get the latest information and process to follow.

Be advised that the federal government is pushing for paperless transactions whenever possible. Their current fees to process a trademark application is 325 dollars if filed electronically. If you prefer to file the application with physical paper In addition to the application and fee, a drawing must be presented showing your design and proposed trademark. You should also be prepared to have examples of how you're using the proposed trademark - Servicemarks currently in your business. If approved, you will then have the exclusive ownership of that particular design.

The benefits of having an easily recognizable Servicemarks cannot be denied. Go anywhere around the world and even if you cannot read the language, a familiar red can with silver ribbons will announce and identify the drink in the container as Coke, the real thing! How much more valuable would your business be if you had a service mark as distinctive and as easily recognizable as a can of Coca-Cola?

Abigail Franks writes on a variety of subjects which include family, travel, health, and business. For More information on Trademarks visit the site at http://www.trademarks.openbriefcase.com

Demystifying Google's new patent

On August 22, 2006, Google's latest patent (#7096214) was approved.? This patent is extremely interesting in light of the recent excitement surrounding social search.? The patent if broken down into its most simplistic form states, Google is going to take their existing algorithm and temper it with shared book marking sites and other trust networks.?
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The Patent itself is called, "System and method for supporting editorial opinion in the ranking of search results".? What does this all mean?? If your web site has gained and lost significant ranking over the past month, it is very likely due to your inclusion or not in trust networks, such as links from www.myspace.com, http://del.icio.us<, Google Co-op and others.? Though the patent does not go into detail on which sites are trusted sites and which are not, it is likely that the trusted sites are the ones that are being talked about heavily with in the social networking arena.?
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It is also important to note, that just having a patent approved does not necessarily mean that you must use the patent.?? Filing for a patent further does not mean that you have disclosed everything there is to know an invention.? For example, it is common practice to withhold all trade secrets from any patent application, because a patent becomes public knowledge and anyone can read it.?

Prior to filing the aforementioned patent application, Google used a computer generated algorithm which did not take human editorial comments or votes into its ranking, with the exception of links from relevant web sites.? The new patent, takes the search results that would appear previously, and then checks to see if any of the sites in the results "relate to a list of favored or non-favored sources", or whether any of the web sites correspond to at least one major category of favored web sites.
The patent makes reference to a plethora of claims.? However, a select few claims express very telling statements.? In claim #3, Google speaks to how it will determine a score of a web site that is not linked to on either favored or non-favored sites using a primary set of logical parameters (the general algorithm).? The claim goes on further to state Google will determine a score for web sites that are referenced by Google's list of favored or non-favored sites, using that same set of parameters and then takes into account an editorial option, and ranking the final search results based on the score.? This seems to implicate that a web site which is listed on a favored site, and has solid editorial opinions will rank higher than a site which is not referenced by the favored or non-favored sites, even if it is still keyword dense, has great titles and all other factors that has been used in the past to rank a site.

In the next few claims the patent backs up claim #3, by stating the editorial opinions cause the rank of those web sites, Flash movies, images etc. that correspond to favored sites to be increased while those corresponding to non-favored sites will be decreased.? Claim #10 goes on to restate how Google will score a web site based on its relationship to a favored or non favored web site and if so, that the ranking will be further fine tuned by an editorial opinion of those favored sites.?
The statements about these favored and non-favored sites as well as editorial opinions leads one to believe that Google is simply referring to good and bad neighborhoods, which have been used in the past.? The editorial opinions leads one to believe Google is looking for specific positive or negative content on shared book marking sites and human reviewed directory sites such as Myspace.? Myspace is especially high on this attorney's list of sites Google may be relying on based on their recent acquisition of ad space on myspace.com.

What is the reasoning behind this new patent of Google?? There must be a way to fine tune the results of general searches.? For example, a search for printers will come up with thousands if not millions of results.? Why not utilize the experience of web users, and enhance the ranking of search results by integration editorial opinions into the scoring of web sites, then applying the score of an overall web site to each individual page, which will be relevant to a keyword search.?
It appears as if Google has made huge strides in exploiting the social networking craze that is sweeping the SEO world.? Yahoo has already done so, with their local search, Yahoo Answers, Flickr, Trip Planner and other programs, but Google is the one who has come out and actually documented what they are doing and provided search engine marketers a manual of sorts to better optimize their client's web sites for the most popular search engine on the planet.

The above entry was written by Michael Goldstein, Esq.?of Goldstein and Clegg, LLC.? A Massachusetts trademark law firmDisclaimer: Attorney Goldstein is not a member of the United States Patent Bar, and his opinions should not be taken as legal advice in any shape, mean or manor, nor should his opinion be legally relied upon.

Trademark a Name - How to Register a Trademark

So, you finally settled on the perfect name for your product or service - it describes the business without being overly descriptive, it tells your customers exactly what you want them to know and it's catchy. That's fantastic! Finding just the right name is vitally important to the success of any product line or service.

Is it required that I register my trademark?

No, not at all. However, registering your trademark, specifically your Federal trademark, does provide you with several advantages:

• The right to use the circle-R symbol as notice to the public about your Federal trademark
• The exclusive rights to the name within your industry across the country
• Establishing brand identity

But what if someone else already came up with that name?

While the name may be unique and distinctive to you, there is a possibility that another party already has prior trademark or common-law rights to the name for your industry. Before you invest time, money and effort into your name, do some research. The first places to check are right at your fingertips - the World Wide Web - and they're free!

Preliminary Search Sites:

• The Trademarks section on the USPTO Web Site
• Your Secretary of State to see if they have a searchable database of names. You can find a listing of all states here
• Major search engines - put your product name in quotes to find exact matches; use keywords with your product name to find relevant hits
• Yellow pages

However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what's out there. Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so try them first. If the name appears to be available, then you can move on to getting comprehensive research done by a private company or an attorney.

Ok, so the name is clear; now what?

To register your trademark, you have 2 options - file for a Federal or a State trademark. If you are only going to sell your product or services in 1 state, then a State trademark is the way to go. The trademark form can be acquired through the Secretary of State (see link above). If you are OR will be selling your products or services in at least 2 states, then you're able to file for a Federal trademark. The form can be completed online at the USPTO (see link above).

While anyone has the ability to go online to access these forms,it's strongly recommended to hire a private company or an attorney for the preparation and/or filing of the trademark application.To ensure a successful filing, it's best to leave it in the hands of those with experience.

You found the perfect name - now, make sure it's truly yours!

Shannon Moore is the General Manager, East Coast for TradeMark Express. Since 1992, TradeMark Express has met the needs of their clients with comprehensive research, application preparation, attorney referrals and trademark consultation. For further details, please visit us on the web at TradeMark Express or call Shannon directly at 800.340.2010.